Tag: constitution

Committee’s proposals for a children’s rights amendment

25th February 2010

Minister for Children Barry Andrews came to the Seanad chamber last night in order to discuss the Final Report of the Joint Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children.  This was my contribution to the debate.

I welcome the Minister of State on the occasion of the publication of this extremely important report which is founded on a high level of consensus across the political divide. I endorse the comments of my colleagues regarding the input of all parties into the report. In particular, I commend the Minister of State on his consistent engagement and regular attendance at committee meetings. The commitment shown by Senators in the committee’s deliberations was exemplary and undermines any argument that might be made for abolishing this Chamber.

This issue is characterised by complexity and, often, the presumption of disagreement even where it does not exist. People assumed on the basis of history that certain things cannot be changed but when we began to examine in detail what words actually mean, it was funny how quickly we were able to progress towards agreement. The Minister of State clearly outlined the achievements made in terms of the proposed wording. If this amendment is implemented, we would have a Constitution which protected children as the holders of autonomous rights. It would be a misnomer to say we are putting children’s rights into the Constitution for the first time but we want to ensure they have rights in and of themselves and not just mediated through their membership of families.

The Minister of State has regular dealings with all the organisations engaged with children’s rights and advocacy, including the Children’s Rights Alliance and Barnardos. These organisations offered significant support to the committee and in some cases made multiple submissions. Their universal welcome for the outcome of our deliberations is in itself a measure of the extent to which progress has been made in the course of our work.

In regard to Senator O’Toole’s remarks, it would be more accurate to say the committee proposes to revise Article 42 rather than insert a completely new article because some of the existing wording is retained. This may give rise to confusion in some quarters during the debate. The provisions dealing with primary, physical, moral and intellectual education which are already in the Constitution are simply lifted into this new proposal. The committee debated whether we should unpick the provisions on education or include a right to secondary education. Several colleagues even argued for the inclusion of a right to third level education. However, members did not feel the terms of reference of the committee extended that far and I believe we reached the correct conclusion. The Bill published in 2007 delineated to a considerable extent the work of the committee. A major debate remains to be had, not least in the context of the Constitution, regarding the right to education but it was not within our remit to make proposals in regard to the sections we lifted from Article 42. We have not dropped the word “physical” because the provision in question was simply left unchanged.

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Report has potential to change constitutional landscape of children’s rights

16th February 2010

Labour Party Spokesperson on Children, Senator Alex White has welcomed the publication today of the Report of the Joint Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children.

Senator White, who along with Brendan Howlin TD was a Labour nominated member of the Committee said:

“This Report, and the proposal for change which it contains, has the potential to radically alter the constitutional landscape of children’s rights in Ireland.

“For the first time, children will have specified constitutional rights including the right to protection and care, the right to an education and the right to be heard. There is also a provision affirming that the welfare and best interest of the child shall be the first and paramount consideration.

“The Report recommends a change in the threshold of intervention in the family by the State. We believe that such intervention, where necessary, should be proportionate.”

Senator White concluded by pointing to the important body of work represented by the three Reports of the Committee.

“It shows that hard work together with careful and patient analysis can deliver real results.”

More :: Click here to read the report in full (PDF)

Athlone report raises serious questions about operation of child protection guidelines

15th April 2008

The report of the Independent Inquiry into how a lecturer in child care policy at the Athlone Institute of Technology was able to remain in his post two years after his conviction for serious sexual offences in Holland raises serious questions about the operation of child protection measures in this country.

Parents will find it hard to understand how no action was taken despite the then Midlands Health Board and the Gardai being notified of it within days of its occurrence in Holland in June 2004.
This was a serious incident involving violence and indecent acts.

Surely we should have accepted by now that when it comes to the welfare and protection of children no avoidable risks should be taken.

In this case it appears that proper procedures were followed and that the appropriate authorities were notified, but no action was taken but for reasons that were not entirely clear.

We must now learn the lessons of this affair and ensure that not only are appropriate procedures in place, but that they are acted upon when incidents like this occur.

The recommendations made by Mr. Devine in his report should now be placed for consideration before the Oireachtas Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children.

More:: Read the full McElwee Report by clicking here